Before Andrea knew she was pregnant, her and Brianna's father had ended their relationship. When Brianna's father, Chad, learned that he had a daughter he became a part of her life forever. Chad gained custody of Brianna and raised her in Moville, Iowa; She was only able to see her mother every other month since she lived about 3 hours away in Parkersburg, Iowa.
Since Brianna was an infant, her father had been dating her step-mother, Karri, who loved Brianna unconditionally as if she was her own. Brianna's father and Karri were married in May of 1994. Brianna's mother married her step-father, Jim Bellows, in 1998 which also brought along another brother, David, whom was about 4 years older. She was soon given two younger sisters in 2002 and 2004 named Korryn and Olyvia; they were children from her mother and step-father and they were truly a blessing.
If Brianna was asked whom she looked up to the most in life, it would be her uncle, Bobby, whom was her father's younger brother. She called him "Bubba" which stuck with everyone who knew him. Bubba was killed in a vehicle accident the summer before Brianna reached Kindergarten, she was devastated. Brianna will always remember him by listening to the song "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy, which was played at his funeral.
Brianna was not very athletic, although she tried her best, she found that her best talent was dancing. She danced at an establishment, Dianne's Dance, from the time she was 4 until she reached 12 years of age. One sport that she did find appealing was soccer, which her father would coach; she was involved in that until she reached 8th grade because her high school did not have a team.
Throughout high school, Brianna was involved in Drill Team, Show Choir, various plays, and Student Council. She was very passionate about all of her activities and took them very seriously. Brianna does not think she would have made it through high school without her friends and her guidance counselor, Mr. Royer, whom was there for her whenever she needed him.
When Brianna was about to finish her Junior year of high school, her heart was completely shattered by the loss of her big brother, David, whom was killed in a vehicle accident. This loss changed Brianna's life and the lives of all her family members forever. David was always the life of the party and anyone could depend on him; he was Jim's right-hand man for all his businesses. His death is a very good of example of the quote "the good die young." Although Brianna was very broken by the loss of her brother, she believes that her other brother, Sean, was hit a little harder. Sean and David were able to grow up together while Brianna was just there for visits. Sean and David fought constantly but, then again, they were brothers. Sean was not sure how to react after the death and he has made many bad decisions that will affect him the rest of his life.
Brianna was named Prom Queen her senior year and views that as such an honor to know that her classmates respected her. She graduated from Woodbury Central in 2011 and attended Western Iowa Tech that fall. She lived in the dorms on campus her first year and moved home that summer. She realized that her father and step-mother were having many issues because of her father's constant drinking and lack of work. She realized that she simply could not live at home any longer and moved into a house in Sioux City with one if her old high school friends, Lindsey, and two other girls, Hailey and Sarah, that she became very close to after the summer. Brianna also met her current boyfriend, AJ, while living in Sioux City whom has been great to her since day one. A few months ago, Brianna learned that her father and step-mother were getting divorced which was hard because of the fact that she already had parents that were split.
After this semester she will be attending Morningside College to pursue a degree in Finance. Although Brianna has been through many hardships, she has turned into one of the strongest people many of her friends have ever known. With everything Brianna has been through, she really believes that everything happens for a reason, even if you don't believe so at first.
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